New indices for Borsa Italiana markets

The Borsa Italiana is revamping the structure of its stock market indices with effect from Monday, 31 January, 2005.

The changes, agreed at a recent meeting of the Borsa's board of directors, will see the Mib and Mibtel baskets expanded to become the All-Shares indices for the Italian market. In addition, new TechStar, Star and All Stars indices will be introduced representing quality small and medium-sized companies. And as of the same date, the existing Numex and Numtel indices of the Nuovo Mercato will no longer be calculated.

Mib and Mibtel, Numex and Numtel indices

The Mib index (one value per day based on official prices) and the Mibtel index (calculated intra-day, one value per minute) will refer not only to equity securities of the Electronic Equity Markets, but also to those of the Nuovo Mercato. The Numex and Numtel indices of the Nuovo Mercato will no longer be calculated.

TechStar Index

Te new TechStar index will comprise stocks of companies that meet specific requirements of profitability growth and equity stability.

Highlights of the methodology: * composition: all TechSTAR stocks except for those included in the S&P/MIB basket and the foreign ones with low liquidity * frequency of calculation and communication: every minute* weighting: based on the free-float (calculated net of stakes, both direct as well as by syndicates, greater than 5%)* cap on the major shares: the weight of each share upon changes to the weighting structure cannot exceed 10% * changes to the basket: on the basis of sector entries/exits * changes to the number of floating shares: 4 times a year, at the end of every quarter* base: 28.12.2001 = 10,000

A historical series of end-of-session data from 2 January 2002 to 28 January 2005 will be made available.

Star Index

To best enhance the role of the Star segment, which comprises the stocks of companies adopting higher requirements of information transparency, corporate governance and liquidity, the new Star index will be calculated starting from 31 January 2005.

Highlights of the methodology: * composition: all stocks of the STAR segment, except for those included in the S&P/MIB basket* frequency of calculation and communication: every minute* weighting: based on the free-float (calculated net of stakes, both direct as well as by syndicates, greater than 5%)* cap on the major shares: the weight of each share upon changes to the weighting structure cannot exceed 10% * changes to the basket: on the basis of segment entries/exits* changes to the number of floating shares: 4 times a year, at the end of every quarter* base: 28.12.2001 = 10,000

A historical series of end-of-session data from 2 January 2002 to 28 January 2005 will be made available.

All Stars Index

The new All Stars index will comprise stock included in the TechStar and Star baskets. The new index will provide an overall vision of companies with small and medium capitalisation with high requirements, and will be able to provide an adequate benchmark for market participants interested in high-quality Italian small and medium-sized companies.

Highlights of the methodology: * composition: all stocks of the TechStar and Star baskets* frequency of calculation and communication: every minute* weighting: based on the float (calculated net of investments, both direct as well as by syndicated agreements, greater than 5%)* cap on the major shares: the weight of each share upon changes to the weighting structure cannot exceed 10%* changes to the basket: on the basis of entries/exits to and from the Techstar and Star baskets* changes to the number of floating shares: 4 times a year, at the end of every quarter* base: 28.12.2001 = 10,000

A historical series of end-of-day data from 2 January 2002 to 28 January 2005 will be made available.

Also from 31 January 2005, along with the MibStar index (weighted in terms of capitalisation), the new TechStar-vwap, Star-vwap and All Stars-vwap indices will also be calculated and communicated at the end of the session, based on official prices (volume weighted average price) and weighted in terms of free-float, with the aim of providing analysts, intermediaries and investors with a synthetic indicator of stock performance throughout the session.